Character March 2025: Runehack: The Asterist

Let's delve into the Runehack games and see how they're going to hold up!

My ratings will be done on four scales, each ranging from 1 to 5:

• RPG: How much does this feel like an RPG to me, as opposed to a board game?
• Soup Stone: How little content does the game expect you to add? For this scale, 0 is a complete Soup Stone since I'd like to sum the scores to see the game's total score.
• Would I Play: If I were given a chance to, would I play this game?
• Would I Write: If I were inspired enough and had time/energy for it, would I get back to working on this game?

Runehack: The Asterist

Octica Ironwell is a human from Moorwell who could afford her own digital immortalization. Before that, she used to work as a dentist, with a regular job and a regular family. Once her mind was scanned and uploaded to Everling, she nicknamed herself 8ECT. There, she could finally have a chance to try new things as much as her heart desired. See all the movies, read all the books, listen to all the music. For now, there are still many experiences ahead of her, but one day, she'll have to stop and ask herself the hard question: "Does this life fulfill me?" If she's given a choice to break out of Everling, her response will be yes only once she really considers the question.

One of the things she got to experience is Asterism, hacking the world around her. At the moment, she doesn't use it often, but perhaps when there's a group of other players around her, she might just start to. Her starting Integrity is 4 (I suppose she was into some strange things), and her Corruption starts at a 0.

I don't feel like writing up the full structure of how she'd spend her points, so instead, I'll describe which stats she'd prioritize:

• Stability is at the top since she wants to experience a lot of things, sometimes things dangerous to her simulated self.
• Speed, so that she doesn't miss out on anything.
• Visual, so that others can see her well even when she's silent (she'd always put at least one point here).
• Audio, so she can be heard well by others.
• Runecraft, because you never know when you'll need a bit of Asterism.
• Strength, Auxiliary, Cravenlore, Mindlore, Witlore, and Worldken, only if they are relevant to the experience she's currently going for.

She'd probably also try to keep some points in her Reserve in any situation, just in case.

Ratings

5/5 RPG. It has the freeform nature of a roleplaying game to me.

4/5 Soup Stone. You'll need to make up some stuff, but I think it's also giving you plenty to work with.

3/5 Would I Play. See, this is hard for me because I already reworked the hacking minigame into the Runehack RPG. This game's unique selling point for now is that you get to play as a digital ghost in the city of Everling, but I don't know how much longer until I find a way to include those in the Runehack RPG.

3/5 Would I Write. I'm torn on this. If the question is, "Would I take the best aspects of this and include them in the Runehack RPG?", the answer is yes. If the question is "Would you update The Asterist?", the answer is no because the Runehack RPG is what I want to focus on a lot more.

15/20 Total Rating

Character March 2025: D6 Feet Under (updated)

As promised, I'm working on updating the game. Not sure when it's going to be released, so consider this a tiny preview of what's ahead.

My ratings will be done on four scales, each ranging from 1 to 5:

• RPG: How much does this feel like an RPG to me, as opposed to a board game?
• Soup Stone: How little content does the game expect you to add? For this scale, 0 is a complete Soup Stone since I'd like to sum the scores to see the game's total score.
• Would I Play: If I were given a chance to, would I play this game?
• Would I Write: If I were inspired enough and had time/energy for it, would I get back to working on this game?

D6 Feet Under (updated)

Felicity Long is a mortal born in the Badwell. There are three things she feels passionate about. One, amassing as much wealth as she can. Two... ehh, better not talk about two. And three, Saint Rue Brightguns. The woman who took everything from her. Her family, her reputation, and her wealth. Felicity is on her way to Saint Rue, but as an angel, she has a couple of underlings who will stand in her way.

Her two weapons of choice are a shovel and a revolver. The first feature Felicity will pick is Dodged the Bullet, which will allow her to regain 1 Luck if she rolls a 1 on all weapon dice and decides it's a miss. Her starting stats are Grit 3, Fit 5, Wit 4, and Merit 0.

Ratings

4/5 RPG. Done this way, it feels better than the original. There's 

4/5 Soup Stone. Hopefully, I'll have some guidelines for generating the towns and NPCs, but beyond that, there's just the right amount of mechanics for what the game is about.

4/5 Would I Play. Runehack RPG is a game I'd prefer to play, but I could see myself running this too if I had the energy and people for it.

5/5 Would I Write. I want to finish this and publish it on itch.io sometime this year.

17/20 Total Rating

Character March 2025: D6 Feet Under

This one will hurt me, but only for a bit. Before I even knew about the Character March, I started working on this system's rework. It's still far from being finished. That being said, it's so radically different from its original version that I will do myself a favor and consider those two separate systems. That way, I'll have one less game to sort out for this monthly challenge.

My ratings will be done on four scales, each ranging from 1 to 5:

• RPG: How much does this feel like an RPG to me, as opposed to a board game?
• Soup Stone: How little content does the game expect you to add? For this scale, 0 is a complete Soup Stone since I'd like to sum the scores to see the game's total score.
• Would I Play: If I were given a chance to, would I play this game?
• Would I Write: If I were inspired enough and had time/energy for it, would I get back to working on this game?

D6 Feet Under

Nate North is a good man, save for his gambling addiction. He's obsessed with Success, and gambling is an easy way to prove he can succeed. He wanders the world trying to find Pearl South, the one woman who defeated him in a game of chance every single time, got the local community to mock him, and can't stop bragging about it. His starting Luck is 2, and his weapons of choice are a revolver, a shotgun, and a knife. His stats are:

• Grit 5
• Fit 3
• Wit 2

Finally, his lucky item is a horseshoe that he got from his grandpa. This increases his Luck to 3.

Ratings

4/5 RPG. It doesn't feel like a board game to me, at least for the most part. Some aspects of it feel like it, but I think there's plenty of space for roleplaying.

2/5 Soup Stone. Some things you'll have to work out on your own, but you do get some inspiration for it.

0/5 Would I Play. It's too clunky, I'd rather not. I mean, the stats get better the lower they are, which goes counter to most game conventions. You're sometimes asked to roll up to 6d6 and keep the lowest result, which is unnecessarily punishing. It was a good foundation though, so...

5/5 Would I Write. I am literally doing that in between these articles.

11/20 Total Rating

Character March 2025: Lethal Companions

Time to get spooky with my final 200-word game made as part of the 2023 monthly challenge!

My ratings will be done on four scales, each ranging from 1 to 5:

• RPG: How much does this feel like an RPG to me, as opposed to a board game?
• Soup Stone: How little content does the game expect you to add? For this scale, 0 is a complete Soup Stone since I'd like to sum the scores to see the game's total score.
• Would I Play: If I were given a chance to, would I play this game?
• Would I Write: If I were inspired enough and had time/energy for it, would I get back to working on this game?

Lethal Companions

Hide-behind is a deadly monster and certainly not a rip-off of the brackern. Its specialty is being subtle and killing fast. Its skin has a dark shade so that it can hide in the darkness easily, and it has a mixture of canine and feline features. Its stats are as follows:

• Hide d20
• Sway d4
• Kill d12
• Track d8
• Resist d10
• Steal d6

Ratings

3/5 RPG. It has the potential to be something.

3/5 Soup Stone. Plenty of space to develop it, but I think it feels less soup stone-y than most of my other games. I guess because it allows you to generate your facility and gives you the stats that serve as prompts for formulating how your creature works.

2/5 Would I Play. Maybe once or twice for fun, if I had the time and the energy.

2/5 Would I Write. It's based on a franchise I don't own, so I'm not sure if I'd want to. If I did, it would be something with a similar premise but without referencing the video game.

10/20 Total Rating

Character March 2025: Rolling with It

I guess I could say I'm on a roll. I'm skipping Watch Your Time because it doesn't even have character creation rules.

On an unrelated note, guess who figured out after 8 years of running a blog how to schedule their posts for the future?

My ratings will be done on four scales, each ranging from 1 to 5:

• RPG: How much does this feel like an RPG to me, as opposed to a board game?
• Soup Stone: How little content does the game expect you to add? For this scale, 0 is a complete Soup Stone since I'd like to sum the scores to see the game's total score.
• Would I Play: If I were given a chance to, would I play this game?
• Would I Write: If I were inspired enough and had time/energy for it, would I get back to working on this game?

Rolling with It

Magister Kyrillos Stauffheimer (don't consider this kind of name canonical for the setting yet) was a respected member of the orb programming community. He was about to present his grandest invention yet to the world, a vehicle that would run on four bowling-ball-sized orbs (or perhaps larger). Things went wrong when he got murdered while programming the wheels, resulting in his consciousness now being trapped inside one of them. Now he has to find out who murdered him while he's stuck in this orb body.

His orb's size is d12, which means he could be fairly strong, but he'd also have a harder time acting and reacting quickly. It also means he has the capacity for 12 units of alcohol, which would allow him to roll around for 48 hours at most, assuming he wouldn't be heating up his surface or creating matter around him. Who knows how far Magister Kyrillos will go... or should I say, roll?

Ratings

4/5 RPG. It has rules for how to play an orb, not much else. That being said, I think it's got potential to work as a TTRPG.

2/5 Soup Stone. At least the game tells you what are the limitations and capabilities of being an orb.

2/5 Would I Play. I feel more drawn to this than to most of my 200-word TTRPG experiments. That being said, I have games I wrote that I'd prefer a lot more.

5/5 Would I Write. For now, this is one of those ideas waiting in my brain cabinet to be uncovered when the need for it arises. Until then, I don't really feel a need to work on it.

13/20 Total Rating

Character March 2025: Bars on Mars

It's that time of day again. Let's go to Mars and see what's up there. Since this would require another coplayer to give downsides to my narc and weaknesses to the alien species, I'll just do that myself.

My ratings will be done on four scales, each ranging from 1 to 5:

• RPG: How much does this feel like an RPG to me, as opposed to a board game?
• Soup Stone: How little content does the game expect you to add? For this scale, 0 is a complete Soup Stone since I'd like to sum the scores to see the game's total score.
• Would I Play: If I were given a chance to, would I play this game?
• Would I Write: If I were inspired enough and had time/energy for it, would I get back to working on this game?

Bars on Mars

Miles Kite is a drug salesman in the Mars colony Redhill, populated by the aliens and humans alike. He's a human. He sells drugs out of necessity. His Number (the only stat in the game) is 7 because he's quite cautious and speedy and not that good at selling his drugs or lying. His weapon of choice is a pocket pistol, and the one thing that he loves the most in the world (other than money, of course) is his copy of the extended cut trilogy of The Lord of the Wings movies. An epic fantasy tale that he loves to experience time and time again, each time under the influence of a different drug. He starts with 19 megacredits.

The narcs he specializes in are IS10B and some other narc that would be described by another player. Since I get to describe this one, let's just say it's a chemical compound that makes you "high as ten bees", which is why it's got that name. Its primary downside is that it will make your sight blurry for a time.

Ratings

5/5 RPG. It's a bit of a stretch, but you know what? It feels like a TTRPG more than my other 200-worders so far, or even when compared to some of my one-pagers.

2/5 Soup Stone. At least this game gives you decent starting points for what to make.

1/5 Would I Play. If I feel like it, I might give it a go.

0/5 Would I Write. I'm rather uninterested in the project. It was made as part of a challenge, it is what it is.

8/20 Total Rating

Character March 2025: Intercosmic Bonds

This one would be way more interesting with other players. I'll see what I can do on my own.

My ratings will be done on four scales, each ranging from 1 to 5:

• RPG: How much does this feel like an RPG to me, as opposed to a board game?
• Soup Stone: How little content does the game expect you to add? For this scale, 0 is a complete Soup Stone since I'd like to sum the scores to see the game's total score.
• Would I Play: If I were given a chance to, would I play this game?
• Would I Write: If I were inspired enough and had time/energy for it, would I get back to working on this game?

Intercosmic Bonds

Flora Watt has the fastest reaction time you've ever seen. You toss a tennis ball her way, and she can catch it. You try to shoot her, and she could likely dodge it. You ask her something, and she'll speak before her answer is completely ready.

The world Flora is tied to intrinsically is the Wild West. Many cowboys and cowgirls wander this world seeking fame, justice, riches, or entertainment.

As for what her stats would be like, it's hard to tell. Other than the Reaction Speed, the remaining stats would depend on what other players would come up with. I know that Flora would have 

Ratings

4/5 RPG. It certainly feels like a TTRPG to me.

2/5 Soup Stone. You'll have to make up a lot of stuff to make this work. There are very few mechanics, but that's all part of the 200-word format, I suppose.

1/5 Would I Play. Maybe one day.

1/5 Would I Write. Unmotivated to do so.

8/20 Total Rating

Character March 2025: The Heaviest Metal

Not sure if this one gets to be posted, but I'll do it anyway. Despite the fact it's less about the pilot and more about the preparation for his next tournament.

My ratings will be done on four scales, each ranging from 1 to 5:

• RPG: How much does this feel like an RPG to me, as opposed to a board game?
• Soup Stone: How little content does the game expect you to add? For this scale, 0 is a complete Soup Stone since I'd like to sum the scores to see the game's total score.
• Would I Play: If I were given a chance to, would I play this game?
• Would I Write: If I were inspired enough and had time/energy for it, would I get back to working on this game?

The Heaviest Metal

Lotta Pi is getting ready for the next tournament by fixing her mech, E.14.

• (2) At first, she goes through a breakdown. Her machine is not at all ready, and finding spare parts for it is hard.
• (5) But then she finds a secret, some kind of device that should aid her in the tournament.
• (4) Upon doing some more research, she learns that this device is a secret government experiment meant for the protection of the Earth. It's damaged, obviously, they wanted to get rid of it, but why? And why is it abandoned in the junkyard, though?
• (6) She overhears an explosion; someone else is having bad luck preparing their mech. (At this point, I would twist another player's cube twice.)
• (4) She learns that the device was in the junkyard on purpose. Someone was meant to find it.
• (2) Someone comes looking for the device, giving Lotta a hard time.
• (1) On the next day though, she finds something that could fit the secret invention into her mech.
• (1) A friend of hers gives up on the tournament participation this time, and offers her an arm of his own mech suit. She gladly accepts it.
• (1) Her father sees the determination she has for this tournament, so he chips in too with some finances. Just what she needed.
• (6) A strong competitor of hers has an accident. (Twist another player's cube twice again).
• (1) Lotta receives a mysterious gift. Yet more parts that she needed
• (3) She finds out that all competitors received mysterious gifts. How strange.
• (4) There's a secret saboteur among the competitors looking for parts, trying to make people hate each other.
• (4) After some time spent searching, the pilots have identified the mole, a government agent who was meant to disrupt this tournament from ever happening.
• (4) The secret plan that the government has for these competitors is to give them deadly parts that they could use to actually kill each other so that the tournament doesn't happen.
• (6) I guess it worked on someone. Their mech went boom.
• (3) ... unless it was an accident?
• (3) Lotta finds love, I guess? Love in the junkyard.
• (1) With the help of her partner, she gets just the part she needs.
• (1) Her rival tossed away a part that he couldn't fit into his machine, so Lotta snatched it for her own.
• (1) And then she found another one of those government experiments. How strange.
• (9) To her shock, combining the force of two of these devices leads to exponential growth in destructive force. The time is up, though. The tournament day has come.

That was more tiring than it looked. But hey, now we know that Lotta has a couple of friends, rivals, a supportive father, and even a romantic partner.

Ratings

4/5 RPG. I'll be a bit more lenient; at least there's something to roleplay here.

1/5 Soup Stone. Here are the rules for how the mechs can fight. As for anything else, including everything I said in the previous section, I had to make that up myself. I was getting quite tired of it, honestly, since the only prompts I had to work with were Another Man's Treasure, Secret, Explosion, Breakdown, and Revelation.

1/5 Would I Play. I don't feel the draw to do it. Maybe as an experiment one time.

2/5 Would I Write. It's got potential. It would certainly benefit from a bunch of roll tables or more things to use.

8/20 Total Rating